Remembering Bill Ho’Opai

Our hearts are heavy at the passing of our client, partner, friend, and Neighborhood Hero, Bill Ho’Opai. Bill helped transform the landscape of the Mountain View neighborhood, and has been nothing short of inspirational to the Anchorage community for two decades.

You likely know Bill as the face of Hula Hands Restaurant and West Berlin . Bill and his sister Charlene, both Native Hawaiian, transplanted themselves to Alaska in the 1980s. After developing their skills and expertise, as well as their longing for a local restaurant that served their familiar Pacific Island fare, Bill and Charlene partnered to open Hula Hands Restaurant on Mountain View Drive in 2000. At the time, Mountain View’s transiency and vacancy were at their peak, with nearly no one else willing to take the risk of starting and operating a business along the mostly-empty commercial corridor. But Bill and Charlene took a risk, and after 25 years, it’s hard to imagine our city without what have become staples to the Anchorage food scene. Bill and Charlene operated Hula Hands successfully in Mountain View for nearly a decade before opening their second location on Fireweed in 2009, and now both locations are serving Pacific Island flavors to waves of diners every day. While other businesses came and went, Hula Hands became a landmark of each neighborhood.

In 2014, when an ACLT-owned building became available in the heart of Mountain View’s commercial corridor, we partnered with Bill to make his next dream come true: opening Anchorage’s first and only German restaurant, West Berlin. Bill draws from his years of Air Force service in Germany to create authentic and quality German fare that quickly become an iconic Mountain View staple.

This year, Bill celebrated 25 years of successful business ownership in Mountain View, with his impact reaching much farther than his restaurants. Bill’s leadership has provided identity, employment, empowerment, and ownership to the Hawaiian and Polynesian community in Anchorage, and to the Mountain View and Spenard neighborhoods. Every day, new entrepreneurs looked to Bill as an example and inspiration. Bill was an incredibly hard worker, but most importantly, he was a great human who we were lucky to know and work with. We will miss him immensely. We are sending our heartfelt condolences to Bill’s family and staff members during this difficult time.

West Berlin has announced that they will be closing permanently at 9PM on December 31st. Go visit before then for one more serving of Bill’s incredible legacy.